The episode had to be completely remounted when Stuart Urban was replaced as director. Production of the new version took place in what was to have been a three-week break for the cast between production blocks.
Due to budgetary constraints, it was not possible to re-shoot some scenes in the north-east, and they instead had to be filmed in and around Watford. Beach-set scenes were shot at Folkestone rather than Whitley Bay, which was obvious to locals on screen due to the presence of pebbles on the beach, which are not present at Whitley Bay. This led to some critics mockingly referring to the production as Our Friends in the South.